walked in before the debate had even ended, ready to start talking victory. the president's team didn't arrive for 10 to 15 minutes and only just a handful of them in there. that kind of says it all. the one side wanted to come in there and start gloating. the other side scrambling to figure what to say. trying to say this was all about mitt romney being irtatd. many people are saying it was the president being a little bit limp and lackluster. >> most people agree with the latter for sure there. get being yond this debate, what is next for both men now, karen? >> president obama will be back here in just a couple hours. an event here this morning at university of denver. before he head to wisconsin for an event in madison. that's expected to be a large crowd, college campus, possibly over 10,000 people. mitt romney heading to virginia today, outside charlottesville. smaller event, smaller town. rob, paula, now talking about the debate for a couple days. then all about vps, paul ryan and joe biden, debate next week and see where the debate

conversation goes. that is certainly going to be maybe more interesting than tonight's was. >> expect a little more fire from the vps. >> little bit. >> little more entertaining. thank you, care ken. a long day, live for us this morning in denver. thank you again. stay with abc news for indepth debate analysis. senior washington editor rick klein will have political observations here coming up later in this half-hour. president obama hoped to put osama bin laden on trial, that is a cording to a new book out later this month. the book quoting the president saying, mr. obama thought he would be in a strong enough political position after bin laden's capture to put bin laden on trial in the u.s. if bin laden survived the navy seal takedown. the president expecting bin laden going down fighting the book "the finish" on sale in 12 days. the administration says there is evidence that stiff economic sanctions against iran are working. iranians protested in the streets of tehran yesterday,

voicing anger about iran's plummeting currency and lost more than a third of its value in just a week. so that means it is costing citizens, a lot more to purchase imported goods. american airlines is sweetening its offer as contract talks continue pilots. the carrier offering to put off pay cuts for international and overnight flights until end of the month. the airline has inspected all boeing 757 jets after problems with the loose seats. all the jets are now back in operation, but some passengers fear, pilots are using their power to force flight delays. >> i think there is enough things that could be written up on aircraft. you have a very complex machine that, that is being operated. there is always going to be some, little thing, something that is not quite right. >> by one travel industry estimate, close to 2 million passengers have been delayed by american in just the last two weeks. the government says don't believe everything you read on

the labels of some weight loss and nutritional supplements. a new inspector general's report found that one in five labels, it checked, made false or misleading claims in addition to many of those and other supplements lack sigh yn ticien studies. chicago police hunting for suspects responsible for pretty much what's an urban marijuana plantation. they found more than 1,000 plants in an area about the size of two football fields. get this, some of the plants were as tall as christmas trees. they have apparently been growing for months. >> the plants were about 6 feet tall. at this point. the estimated value of this is some where between $7 million and $10 million. when i inquired how long would it take the plants to reach that height, the guess that we are making is these were probably planted sometime in the spring. >> now, the next step is to cut the plants down, remove them to

a secure location, where they will then be burned. >> heo. >> that ought to be -- [ coughing ] >> quite a scene. all that -- >> clear everybody out. chicago is going to feel really good that day. facebook users who don't want to be overlooked can pay to be seen. for $7 a pop, users in the u.s. can have their posts bumped up to the top of the news feed, wedding pictures, birth announcements would no longer be buried by recent posts. the service is a available in 20 other countries as well as the businesses in the u.s. guess we are desperate for attention. >> a little scary there. all right. well the man who sparked national outrage with his e-mail to a wisconsin news anchor about her weight, he ain't backing down. kenneth cross released a statement, urging her to

transform herself over the next year for viewers to see, offered advice and support to her. she had responded with a four minute segment about self worth and called krausse a bully. you would think that went around the horn nationally, would be a little more. >> sensitive. >> since tiff. >> let's move on. >> move on. keep on. unbelievable. >> okay. here is a look at your weather. early snow, what an early snowfall, from bismarck to northern minnesota. an area of a foot of the white stuff. showers and thunderstorms from wilmington, north carolina, to miami. >> all right, southern accent. 81 in atlanta. 86 in new or leans. 60s in the central plains. and also from salt lake city over to seattle. by the way, kenneth krausse, put your picture up on facebook, twitter, and see what you look like, have america --

>> did you see the picture? >> this from the guy that didn't recognize that i had specs until about -- three hours into the show the other day. >> sorry. if it's late. all right, ready. this is our favorite story of the day, man. that's right. one of the rare accomplishments in baseball the reason we picked this as our favorite of the day. >> congratulations to miguel cab ra of the detroit tigers, baseball's first triple crown winner in 45 years, since 1967. >> led the american league in the three major offensive categories, batting average. home runs and rbis. cabrera, the 15th player ever to within the triple crown. >> that means the rest of the tigers can get ready to face the as in the first round. joins ted williams, lou gehrig, mickey mantle, hasn't happened since 1967, not in our generation. pretty big deal. >> some of the names. long list, mickey mantle.

pretty impressive there. >> last guy, boston's carl yastremski. yas. 67. >> in a moment we'll return to our top story and get political insight on last night's debeet from senior washington editor rick klein. neighbor versus neighbor. aren't we sa peupposed to love neighbor? >> mcsteamy, and a member of the smashing pumpkins. a hollywood dispute, making waves worldwide. >> is that a marijuana tree? ♪ ♪ i love how clean my mouth is after a dental cleaning... i just wish i could keep it this way. [ male announcer ] now you can. with the crest pro-health clinical line. used together, they help keep your teeth 97% as clean as a dental cleaning. the toothpaste actually reduces plaque. and the rinse reaches all areas and is clinically proven to help prevent plaque regrowth. crest pro-health clinical line.

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back to our top story. the first presidential debate of the campaign season. >> here is abc's senior washington editor rick klein. rick, thank you for joining us. what was your overall on the biggest on ser vaebservation fr debate. >> this was mitt romney's night, he was sharp, specific, sustained, a plan of attack and went after barack obama every way he could. holding him accountable for the obama record. we haven't seen that too much in this campaign. there have been so many personal attacks, back and forts. he was able to say look this is what you promised four years ago, this is what you delivered on, where is the gap? here's what i will offer. most importantly, able to say look this is the choice i am offering. able to control the debate. >> what do you think was the problem with the president last night? his performance is uniformly panned, tired, underprepared, overconfident or strategy of some kind. >> it was part strategy. went into the debate knowing

they're winning the campaign with current strategy. don't do anything to upset that apple cart. see if you can ride this out. the other piece, i think he went in thinking he didn't have to prepare, thinking he was able to ride this, this through, throughout. didn't think mitt romney would bring it the way he did. he was trying not to make news. when you play that kind of prevent defense you prevent yourself from winning. that's what he ran into tonight. playing for a draw he ended up losing. >> a lot of people are questioning why didn't he bring up the 47%. he had a lot of opportunities to hit it out of the park. failed on those opportunities. >> issues come up, 47, bain, women's rights, nothing. >> leike a different campaign from being waged on the air. almost political malpractice, you have an opportunity. liberals were nashing their teeth last night. for the obama campaign perspective they figure he is presidential in this stage. doesn't need to get into the muddy mess of a fight with mitt

romney. if he can aindividuvoid that, r above, ride the coat tails of the presidency. they made a decision not to bring up the 47%. wonder if that will hold true in the other debates given the story loon of this oine of this. >> do you think romney will see a bounce out of this, the way obama had a bounce, bill clinton's famous speech. >> you need a story to change if you are mitt romney. he is primed for a comeback moment. what happens next, follow up on this, giving a speech on foreign policy. going to be asked about this in interviews. if he can build on momentum a little. yes expect that he begins to close the gap. positive signs in battleground states. so the romney campaign just happened at the right moment for them to capitalize on something. knowing you have five weeks left, knowing a couple turns left. >> can't believe, 33 days left. >> five weeks. and counting. >> coming soon. >> right. rick klein, thank you so much for joining us in studio this

morning. we'll be right back. >> thank you.

celebrity cat fights are nothing new. a new one involving a well-known tv actor and famous rock 'n' roller. >> abc's nick watt reports the fight is over a fallen tree. ♪ despite all my rage >> reporter: living next to smashing pumpkins billy corrigan, noise would have to be your parently not, trees smashi into your house. eric dane, mcsteamy is suing his neighbor, trespass, nuisance, neglect and emotional distress. here are the indisputable facts of the story. that is billy corrigan's house, dark, stormy night. one of the trees got blown over,

smash right into eric dane's house. according to the lawsuit, this falling tree smashed the sprinkler system, the power lines, home alone, eric's pregnant wife, says she and her 20-month-old daughter were forced to flee, a quickly flooding home surrounded by live, high voltage wires without the ben president efit of light survived. >> they have been dispossessed from their home and that the house is not safe until something is done with the trees. the danes been warned trees were dangerous. patent low untrue replies corrigan. i was horrified when i learned about the tree falling. eric dane did not respond to our calls, e-mails and wasn't home when we called. corrigan calls the legal battle a shame because they're nice people. ♪ today is the greatest day i have ever known ♪ >> reporter: corrigan has

definitely known greater days than this. ne nick watt, abc news, beverly hills. riveting news there. something more relevant. taco day coming up next in the morning mix. come on back. >> mm. follow the wings.

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multiple concussions, the repeated hits. depression, dimentia that can obviously. >> football is like americana. it will be around forever. you know what i mean? >> yes, it will. but the dover school board since released a statement. they said the chance laeancella football not going to happen. >> not going to happen. when in you fly you, have trouble with the luggage. know what i mean. trying to find the carousel. get it up on the thing. this story i love for all you guys out there who travel a lot. it is, spoospeaks to our lazine locks on to the blue tooth on your mobile phone. follow you through the airport. follows the the sgsignal. get this, will lock up and alert you by vie brabrating your phon. if you are lazy don't feel like dragging your bag or putting it

over your shoulder. get the hop suitcase. i thin ache great idea. >> i automatically follow you. no blue tooth requires. crazy sight in russia, motorists speeding down the highway, see a large bale of hay. his tractor had broken down. there was no other way. he, strapped it on. transport it. a little crazy. >> ridiculous video. our favorite part of the show where we got to eat. it is national taco day 2012. otherwise known as free tacos. any place that sells tacos, taco bell, whatever, doing this in your neighborhood. they will, free tacos, taco special. the point is go eat and enjoy, a delicious little snack here. nice little display here. these, these are the hard shells, soft-shell, what have you got? >> allegedly, hard shell, soft

and soggy right now. >> hate when that happens. >> for you. >> here is the soft-shell.

this morning on "world news now" -- political showdown. president obama and governor mitt romney face to face in their first debate. >> was there a clear winner? and did either candidate manage to reach out to undecided voters who could make or break the race it? is thursday, october 4th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good thursday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. we're going to take you live to denver to begin our coverage of last night's debate and tell you why big bird -- yes -- big bird was part of the discussion. >> there were a lot of light moments last night. i think big bird the thing,

emerging as a moment of levity, but a symbol too for something else as well. interesting. >> clinging on to that big old yellow bird. then a frightening medical scare in several states. how do so many hospital patients come down with a brain disease and what caused this unusual illness? this morning, who punked ashton kutcher, the hoax that had police swarming the actor's home. and why nobody is laughing. later in this half-hour, we have featured extreme eats, all week, i can't button my jacket. today serving up an early morning sweet treat from new yorkers who have mastered the art of donut making. anything you can fry is good by me. >> amen to that. dough nuts this morning. breakfast of champions. what i'm talking about. we turn to the big news of the morning. the debate last night ranged from solving the nation's debt crisis to whether big bird should be fired. >> long on the details and short on the kind of political

fireworks that have parked past debates. which candidate did better? 33 days until the ever big vote. abc's karen travers live in denver with a look. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, paula. good morning, rob. it was clear from the start of last night's debate that mitt romney saw this as an opportunity to shack up the race. came out aggressive, well prepared and put the president on defense for much of the 90 minutes. president obama and mitt romney finally went head-to-head. right out of the gate the candidates boiled down their economic arguments. if you will, trickle down government would work. that's not the right answer for america. >> reporter: romney's comments about the 47% have taken a toll on his campaign, even before the

leaked video, polls showed americans think he favors the wealthy over the middle-class. he clearly wanted to try to change that perception. >> the people who are having a hard time right now are middle-income americans. under the president's policies, middle-income americans have been buried. they're, they're just being crushed. i will not under any circumstances raise taxes on middle-income families. >> reporter: but the president said his rival doesn't have the right solutions and that romney can't keep his goal of cutting taxes and not adding to the deficit without hurting the middle-class. >> now, five weeks before the election he is saying his big bold idea is never mind. >> reporter: the debate later turned to the president's health care law which romney says he will get rid of if elected. >> it cuts $716 billion from medicare to pay for it. i want to put that money back in medicare. it has killed jobs. >> reporter: but the president tried to bring it back to romney's own health care law which he says is quite similar. >> governor romney did a good thing working with democrats in the state to set up what is

essentially the identical model. it hasn't destroyed jobs. >> reporter: there were few fireworks and there were even fewer surprises. both candidates were deliberate going through their policy points. rob, paula, at times that made it seem look they were more concerned with getting through their checklist than really connecting with voters watching at home. >> all right, karen. a moment when they were talking what programs would be cut. all of a sudden you heard sesame street, big bird, big bird started trending. tell us what happened? >> oh, yeah, don't let your kids hear this one. big bird is apparently on the chopping block in a mitt romney budget. he said there have to be programs that have to be eliminated if we have to borrow money. look, i love pbs, i love big bird, but big bird is going to go. he would end subsidies for pbs. got a laugh. blew up twitter. everybody was talking about it.

i tweeted i think we need a fact check, does mitt romney really love big bird. seemed to get attention. people were terested in us going back and looking whether or not he really does, what is mitt romney's record on big bird? >> moving on to something a little more substantive than sesame street. not going to find a lot of people out there who think the president won last night. he really by all accounts. both side of the aisle, a lackluster kind of dry, flat, performance. is that what you are hearing as well? >> rob, the people that think the president won were the ones that were die hard in his corner or the people that are getting a paycheck from the campaign office in chicago. the president came out, a little flat, he came out on the defensive. never really able to gain his ground. mitt romney though, you have to give him credit. he was really prepared. went through the bullet point. how many times, did we hear him say, one, two, three, four. he was very, very prepared and aggressive. and that's what you would expect though when an incumbent is a

debate. all about the president's record. much as he can try on the trail, make this what mitt romney would do over four years if he is elected. this is referendum on the president. mitt romney was successfully able to do that. at one point he said you have been president the last four years. we are not talking about what is about to happen need to talk what has been happening. >> really quick, any missed opportunities for both candidates. romney did exceptionally well. in terms of missed opportunities? >> two big missed opportunity i think both side. president obama did not go after milt romney on that 47% comment. that has been dominating the debate conversation the last couple weeks. didn't go aggressively on it. some people, democrats will say he should have done that. mitt romney said the middle-class has gotten crushed by the obama administration, but dent say just like joe biden said yesterday, would have been a great opportunity to say look even your own vice president admit it. >> two more chances left to go. plus the vp debate. thank you to karen travers, reporting live from denver. thank you again, karen.

coverage of last night's debate is far from over. later this half-hour some of your political observations. posted on our facebook fan page. keep it heren abc. all morning long. tomorrow we'll get the latest gauge on unemployment nationwide from the labor department and it does not look encouraging. september's jobless rate is predicted to j up slight low to 8.2% when the federal report is released up .1% from august. a private survey showed american businesses made 162,000 hires last month, down from august. something that may be addressed in the next two presidential debates, a new book that says president obama hoped to put osama bin laden on trial if he add surrendered in last year's raid by u.s. navy seals. the book quotes mr. obama as saying, he fought he would been a strong much position politically after bin laden's capture that a criminal trial would have been possible here in the u.s. it also says the president expected bin laden to go down

fighting in the raid. the book called "the finish" published in two weeks. and nearly a dozen people in new york are facing charges this morning in a case of international espionage. they are all accused of shipping cutting edge military technology from houston and sending it to russia through jfk airport. believed the computer components ended up in a radar and surveillance equipment and fighter jets as well. trying to pinpoint the source of an meningitis outbreak which left four dead and dozens ill. all received steroid injections before becoming ill. 1 cases were at a national clinic. public health investigators say this meningitis is caused by common fungus and not spread person to person contact. >> it appears to be a particular mold, aspergelis, perez reresenr

environment, fairly ubiquitous. we broeathe spores they don't make sick. >> now, suspected as the source of the steroid medicine voluntarily suspended operations. a philadelphia police officer seen on video punching a woman in the face will soon be out of a job. the city's top cop, announced that he is firing lieutenant jonathan josie saying it is difficult to justify his actions during a post parade street party over the weekend. thecuffed after being knocked to the ground. charges have been dropped. ashton kutcher has punked plenty of people with great comedic effect. the center of a hoax, yesterday, which had nobody laughing. police and s.w.a.t. teams, converged on his hollywood home after some one reported a burglary was under way. nothing going on.

kutcher wasn't even home at the time. >> received a teletype, apparently from a deaf person. there was a call of shots being fired. and the officers got there, obviously no shots being fired. all employees of the residence. doing what they were supposed to be doing. >> three people who were in the house were questioned were not arrested. police say they will find who ever initiated that prank. and prosecute them. >> when the joke goes bad. here on a cutting edge show like "world news now" -- we know that stuff like why did the checken cross the road? well it's kind of old by now. >> slately. >> a touch. >> that's why we have stuff like taco, the emu trying to cross the road in cape canaveral. the taco had a good reason for trying to cross the road. not just off to get to the other side right? >> seems taco was randy, seeing as it is mating season. taco was trying to find some lady emus. oh, yeah! emu! his owner eventually got him back in his pen.

but without a lady friend. so, i guess, randy to handy. ha-ha. >> got to get creative, you know what i mean. >> that was awful. coming up. returning to our top story this morning. first presidential debate and your observations about it. >> stick around for something, oohy, gooey, and sweet, extreme eats series -- early morning favorite. you are horrible, rob nelson. donuts like you have never seen or tasted before. all coming of on "world news now." ♪ ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by lime-away. um, hello. these ugly stains are ruining my good looks and style. and good luck using that cleaner. excuse me, miss ? he's right. those are tough hard water stains, and that cleaner's not gonna cut it. truth is, 85% of us have hard water and many don't even know it.

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well, instant analysis takes on new meaning in social media, facebook and twitter. lighting up last night with folks weighing in. >> everyone is sitting on the couch chiming in. no different on our facebook page. as soon as the debate ended we asked you who you thought won. and why? here is some of what you had to say. >> romney. he was clear, decisive in his answers. where obama's mind seemed to wander and at times seemed very distant while romney was speaking. >> a lot agree with that.

meanwhile, martin says obama. romney gives me a bad feeling. i don't trust him. >> allly says, obama won. romney looked lick he drank too much red bull or something. he was hyped. >> mitchell says, huge obama fan and think he'll come back next debate. but tonight he was kicked from one side of the ring to another. >> i call it a tie since they beth seem to have repeated what the other said just different wording or something like that. >> really, really interesting last night. pundits both side. mitt romney's night. don't think any one is are going that. obama, flat, looking down, angry, irritated. like he is phoning it in. mitt romney was aggressive. wonder if he went through 22 debates in the primary with republicans. it showed last night. really did. >> sure did. very strange strategy so to speak from the president. >> if it was a strategy, yeah. join the conversation logging on

to facebook, wnnfans.com. >> and from pickles to meatballs, all week bringing unusual food tour of new york city. >> that's right. this morning we found a place that has perfected donuts. look at this thing right here. >> not yet. not yet. >> stick around for our extreme eats coming up next. >> ooh, man.

>> one of our favorite treats at 3:00 a.m. donuts. >> we send amanda van allen, donuts taken to a whole new level. amazing, amanda. >> ron, paula, you have never seen donuts like the ones i am about to show you. i visited donut planet, where i learned to make three types of gourmet donuts. and used a blow torch for one. part of our extreme series,

extreme elts. we are her today at donut plant, here with executive chef, owner, mark. what keeps the customers coming become to this donut place, rather than just having a dunkin donuts down the street? >> i think because it is iginal. i think my grandfather's donut recipe. kind of wanted to do something different with it. when i first started making donuts 18 years age i was interested in taking it in my own direction. you know, so much more fun to do something that hadn't been done before. >> learning how to make donuts from start to finish. and this is our first station, right, mark? >> right. what we have done. rolled out the dough. now we are going to cut them. when you cut out a lot of donuts. learn how to flip it. watch this. >> ooh. fancy. i want to try that. hold on. a section for myself. okay. here we go. >> that's good. >> take it over here. >> ooh, wow.

>> so we do them altogether. >> yeah. ♪ pistachio sound kind of amazing, actually. >> wow. look at that. >> so there is no surface that goes untouched by the pistachio. everything. >> tee tal cuotal coverage. >> total coverage. look at that. i love that. oh, my goodness. >> what is in the rose? >> we have this small minidonut. we are going to glaze it in rose water glaze. after that we are going to -- accessorize it. >> with these. >> rose petals. >> edible. cheers.

>> oh, my goodness. amazing. >> this is our signature donut which is a -- also a creme brule, inject with vanilla bean custard. it is crunchy, you bite in, and the custard. >> and keep it moving. stay pretty far away from it. you don't want to burn it. main thing to keep it moving. because you are going to caramelize the sugar. not burn it. >> a little too fast. >> sorry. >> about the focus. look at that donut. that was, that was actually -- >> it's on fire! >> just pops out at you. it's lack a party in your mouth. >> oh, my goodness. >> all the flavors. run through these.

>> yeah, chocolate cake donuts. raspberry donuts, creme brule, pistachio, peanut butter, coconut. >> delicious! here you go, paula! >> ha-ha! medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him.

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♪ work it ♪ do your thing >> work it, baby. work it baby. >> as i split my dress. >> more of the donut. >> sound like a glamorous life, beauty, high fashion, exotic photo shoots, being on the catwalk, probably a cakewalk, isn't it? >> turn out that is not close. being a model is not only hard work it pays next to nothing. abc's linsey davis talked to a woman who is revealing the ugly side of beauty. >> reporter: strutting your stuff on the catwalk and gracing magazine covers have never seemed so unglamorous. at least when seen through the eyes of model ashley stetz.

>> there is so much rejection, and you know you don't always get paid. no stability in this work. >> reporter: she has been a covergirl and industry insider more than a decade. this is her day job. trying on clothes and posing for pictures. doesn't sound too strenuous until you hear her talk about it or read what she wrote in the column for huffington post, the finances of a model in new york city revealed. >> you are really not making any money. >> reporter: for example when she landed this her first cover for "women's health" mag zazine she was disappointed to learn she would get paid $250. other day long shoots pace less, $100 for the day. >> a lot of models do end up working as waitresses in night life. >> reporter: she just wants to clear misconception and give outsiders insight about what she

calls the underbelly of the industry. >> keep in mind it is a business for them. they see you as a way to make money. if you need to borrow money from your agency you are waiting to pay the rent, they'll charge you 10%. >> reporter: at 30 years old she knows she is nearing the end of her shelf life. >> i was comfortable. it was easy to do this job the what's snex anext? >> she started a blog, the frugal model teaching girls how to be beautiful on a budget. she says something her life as a model has taught her firsthand. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> that breaks misconception. think models are raking money on covers. good to know there is another side to it, huh? >> ernicalironically, the pro f where the males make less than the female models. >> how much did you make when you did it? >> $1.50 a hour the i had to pay them. >> wow, "glamour" magazine.

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the presidential candidates get this morning on "world news now" -- rating the debate. the presidential candidates get down to policy nitty-gritty in their first face-off. >> early reviews say mitt romney turned in a strong performance in denver last night. it's thursday, october 4th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good thursday morning, everybody. i'm paula faris. >> i'm rob nelson. welcome everybody. a lot of people are saying it looks like a brand new race this morning. we'll have complete debate analysis coming up in just a second. by all accounts a very good night, momentum game changer for mitt romney. >> bit of a head scratcher for

the president. a lot of people said he just look ed listless. >> not, not a good night. so, expect reassessment. >> for sure. >> also this half-hour, laughing it up with america's post debate ritual. a look at "saturday night live's" long history of skewering the politicians. no one does it better than "snl." >> not gonna do it. >> not gonna do it. dana carvey. >> can't wait. hear how they're going to spin it. also ahead, we have heard so much about the peanut butter recall. now we meet a victim of the outbreak, a little boy whose scoop of peanut butter gave him the scare of his life. >> again, the people -- they're saying how far reaching the peanut butter recall is. so many products. a telltale story right there. then we also have a revelation from nicole kidman. she breaks her silence about going into a deep depression after her marriage to tom cruise fell apart a few years back. what she is saying now coming up in "the skinny."

seeing she has given this interview now, of course, tom, just in the middle of this third divorce. i believe. so, wow -- crazy. >> yes it is. what is not crazy we are leading with politics. >> that's it. >> first mitt romney had president obama on the defensive for the majority of that 90 minute debate last night. >> his performance renewed hope among republicans for a victory come november. with 33 days until the election, abc's terry moran begins our coverage. >> reporter: they came out, shook hands, ready for the main event. but president obama began soft, very soft. a shout out to the first lady. >> i just want to wish, sweetie, you, happy anniversary, and let you know that, a year from now we will not be celebrating it in front of 40 million people. then they got down to business, the subject, jobs. romney took it to the president from the get-go. >> middle-income families are being crushed. >> reporter: it was clear and direct and aggressive. romney seemed on his game and ready for a fight. hammering away at the grim

economic track record of the last four years. >> the president took office, 32 million people on food stamps, 47 million on food stamps today. economic growth this year, slower than last year. last year slower than the year before. going forward with the status quo is not going to cut it for the american people who are struggling today. >> reporter: president obama seemed at first to wander a bit, but found his footing with an answer that slammed romney as the heir of failed trickle down economics. >> i think, math, common sense, and our history shows us that is not a recipe for job growth. we tried this. the approach governor romney is talking about is the same sales pitch made in '01 and '03 and it all culminated in the worst financial crisis since the great depression. >> the president struggled to score points on what polls show is romney's biggest vulnerability. most voters believe he favors the rich. obama tried to portray the

romney/ryan plan for medicare in that light. >> when you move to a voucher system you are putting seniors at the mercy of the insurance companies and over time if traditional medicare has decayed or fallen apart then they're stuck. >> romney zeroed in on obama's vulnerability unpopularity of his health care plan in his sense he took his eye off the economic ball when he pushed for it. terry moran, abc news, new york. >> debate coverage continues now with abc's senior washington editor rick klein. >> rick, good morning. pundits on beth side of the aisle giving this to romney. we are expecting zingers, style, not substance, a whole lot of spinach on the plate. did it work? >> couple think-tank presidents tangling there. so many studies and reports and facts and figures. i think both candidates know, voters out there want specifics, so they came loaded to bear with more specifics than most can handle. one thing that seemed lacking to me, any sense of humanity, actually touching peoples lives.

in the blizzard of numbers. clearly, two guys that -- maybe a couple wonky, nerdy guys running for president. >> not a joe six-pack debate by any stretch. there weren't a lot of bright spots for the president. this was romney's night. everyone on both side saying that. one effective thing the president did, pointed out romney is still short on details on a few key things, health care plan, tax plan as well as frank-dodd, did he score any points? romney is a blank canvas. >> there were a few vulnerabilities when you talked about entitlements, tax plans, he has to square these numbers. he dug himself some holes, that the obama campaign can dig him into more. i think there is possible areas of opportunity there. this was not something that even the most dedicated partisans can paint as a good night for president obama. >> a bad night if opinions are uniform. >> the next presidential debate tuesday october 16th. >> thank you, rick.

>> thanks. >> thank you, guys. our coverage of the debate does not end here. we'll take you live to denver, during "america this morning" and also during good morni"good america," as well, as a wrap-up and further analysis. look for political insight any time always at abcnews.com. turning overseas, tension is running high this morning along turkey's border with syria. five turkish civilians were killed yesterday when an artillery shell fired from inside syria, landed in their border village. it was answered by artillery fire on syrian targets from turkey's military. syria accuses turkey of hosting syrian opposition groups that are fighting president bashar assad's regime. the regime is blaming rebels for a series of bomb blasts in syr syria's largest city, aleppo. three car bombs and explosion caused a massive amount of destruction yesterday. at least 33 people were killed and dozens wounded since the uprising began in march 2011. activists say more than 30,000 people have been killed.

the number is beyond staggering, man. in other news this morning -- a new jersey family is thanking a group of good samaritans after escaping a fire in dramatic fashion, all caught on surveillance video. the entire family, a mother and her five kids, jumped out the window of their burning third floor apartment in newark. the 17-year-old went first. landing directly on the sidewalk below. people walking by, gathered under the window to catch the children and mom one by one. amazingly only minor injuries. >> i have two broken toes. and this foot right here -- my sister her -- her ankle is broken. >> my back is hurting so bad because i came down on my back. my arm, this its hurting so bad. >> certainly could have been far worse than that, wow. the mother said they probably wouldn't be here had it not been for strangers who stepped in to

help them. important health news for women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant. new research shows that children of women who had high blood pressure may pay the price even years later. scientists in finland found the children had a marked decline in their reasoning, math skills, and spatial relationships for the time they turned 70 up to 8% of pregnant women suffer from high blood pressure. here is your thursday forecast. a wet day in the northeast. heavy rain. am i cracking you up? >> i was going to chime in about the pregnancy thing. >> you got something to say about pregnant women don't you. showers from the carolinas to florida. up to a foot of snow in north dakota and northern minnesota. >> 40s from billings to fargo. mostly 70s in the midwest. 80s from hotlanta to dallas. 99 in phoenix. >> did you say fargo? >> fargo. the last time we all saw james

bond it was skydiving into the opening ceremony of the london olympics. and now he is about to celebrate a big milestone. >> that's right. tomorrow marks 50 years since the first bond film. director no was released. what you doing, girl? followed by 21 other movies, featuring 007. during the time six men have played bond himself. forgot how hot he was. >> the franchise has done pretty well. you might say it had nearly $5 billion in ticket sales. the 23rd bond film "sky fall" hits theaters later this month. who is your favorite -- whoa, distracted. who is your favorite bond of all? i'm still a sean connery fan. >> daniel craig. i love daniel craig. he surprised me. i wasn't expecting a whole lot from him. >> he won you over. >> he did win me over. >> indeed. nice to know, paula. >> just like you. >> took a little time, right? >> yes. >> coming up, family members who found out about tainted peanut butter and found out the hard way.

>> later, historic humor. how past political debate turned candidates into laughingstocks. you are watching "world news now." atching "world news now." ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to youy ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by swiffer wetjet. i'm done! "are you a cool mom?" i'm gonna find out. [ female announcer ] swiffer wetjet's pads are better than ever. now they have the scrubbing power of mr. clean magic eraser so you don't have to get down on your hands and knees to scrub away tough, dried-on stains. hey, do you guys think i'm "momtacular" or "momtrocious"? ♪ [ female announcer ] swiffer. now with the scrubbing power of mr. clean magic eraser.

all week long we have been telling you about the massive recall of peanut butter, more than 100 products now pulled off store shelves. >> this morning we hear firsthand from a young man who never thought his love of peanut butter would make m sicker than he has ever been. abc's steve osunsami has this story. >> reporter: 8-year-old nate lebron says it fellike he was going to die because he ate out of a jar of peanut butter his father brought from a trader joe's grocery store. >> it felt very painful. the stomach cramps i was screaming loud. and i was saying "why does this happen to me?" >> reporter: one of 30 confirmed salmonella victims so far. families should know symptoms show up usually within three days. it was a terrible scare that started saturday, august 25th with classic symptoms parents should look for. first painful stomach cramps. then severe headache. a 103-degree fever. dysentery. by monday morning he was

vomiting too, but he was now bleeding. doctors couldn't figure it out. wednesday he had to be hospitalized. his fever didn't break until friday. he was already home when the test results came back the following tuesday. salmonella, a unique strain linked to recalled peanut butter. how frightened were you by all this? >> it is our child, our baby, i don't think any parent would want to been that position. >> i thought this was good for you. but i have been eating peanut butter, that kind of peanut butter before i got sick almost all the time. >> reporter: which he never thought would hurt. steve osunsami, rocky mount, north carolina. >> a lucky little guy. 30 people have become sick. four have needed to be hospitalized. thankfully, no one has died from the outbreak just yet. >> you can't be too careful. with this -- side effect manifesting up to two weeks later. >> two weeks later. >> abcnews.com for a complete

list on the products recalled. again, abcnews.com for all the latest on that. be careful, you think some may be tainted. chuck it. wait till this passes. >> i got jif and skippy. those allegedly aren't tainted. >> you got the good stuff. taking it up a notch. >> crunchy. >> smooth its better. you like crunchy? >> i like them both. i've don't discriminate against peanut butter. all of them. >> all that nut butter. nicole kidman reveals her emotional scars dating back to the end of her marriage with tom cruise. >> what celebrity watchers are revealing about rihanna and chris brown. it is all next in "the skinny." pucker up. >> abc "world news now" will continue after this from our abc stations.

♪ skinny ♪ so skinny >> welcome to "the skinny," everybody. nicole kidman opening up for the first time about her marriage and subsequent depression after her divorce with tom cruise. she spoke to australia's "who" magazine and talks about getting married really young at age 23. they got married in 1990 when she and tom cruise got married. she says they split after 11 years of marriage, they have two adopted children. she was really depressed because they got married so quickly. she was just so young. she says i don't regret it. i got bela and connor, and

i did have a fantastic marriage for a long time. part of the depression stemmed from being able to conceive. she had an ectopic pregnancy, and suffered a lot of miscarriages. and has a couple beautiful children with her husband, keith urban. also, fellow aussie. >> divorce can be a dark period for a lot of people, and you throw in fame, wealth, whatever emotional turmoil. she clearly moved on. doing well. >> looking great. >> looking great. also here -- mm-mm-mm, rihanna and chris brown apparently are maybe getting back together or at least messing around or doing something. according to multiple reports, celeb buzz, "new york post," they were at a new york city nightclub monday night. coming up next to each other. seen kissing. apparently they went into the bathroom together. at one point when she came out, looked a little shall we say ruffled. so then, he was seen leaving the hotel where she was staying. all signs point toward some kind of reconciliation.

apparently, when she gave the interview to oprah, she admitted she loved him. apparently same club. a few tables down. came over. took off his shirt. started dancing on the table where she was at. they had this hot nightclub kind of night. apparently, they're getting back together. we all know the back-story, what happened you. you hope if they to get back together. and god forbid something else happens, people will look at her and go, fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. you know what i mean? let's hope certain lessons have not been forgotten. on that situation, huh? >> have you ever watched honey boo boo, pined-size ed pageant star. >> i know who she is. >> reality star. chronicles her and her family, very entertaining, a lot of my friend like the show. now an upcoming episode of "southpark" that funny show is going to take aim at honey boo boo. take a listen. >> my name is honey-boo-boo, i am a beauty queen. i'm fat as a whale and i don't give two -- girl.

>> oh, lord. here we go. >> honey-boo-boo. she is so cute. airs wednesday, 10:00, comedy central. >> little bit of an indulgence -- indulgence for people. >> it is. south park is -- i love south park. nothing is safe. nothing is sacred. honey booboo. her time in the fire. >> they're asking mitt romney about snooki, honey booboo. she is this little girl is blowing up. >> she has a big personality. >> indeed. making more than us. anyway, showed you yesterday, nicki minaj and mariah carey had dustup, american idol auditions in north carolina, and expletive laden tirade. between two known divasen the business. ryan seacrest, in the back ground here, going at it. and, well ryan seacrest on his radio show said, it got heated between niki and mariah, intense.

i'll be honest with you. it did get intense. apparently a detente. they are okay now. they made up. on the way to baton rouge for further auditions. apparently now is all well. >> uh-huh. >> there were tense moments the i don't think it's over. just saying. meow. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about. and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist.

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♪ ♪ >> oh. >> i've been looking forward to this segment. when most presidential debates have defining moments replayed on cable news and analyzed by pundits for days. >> ain't that the truth. some times, the most memorable moments of the debates come after the debate on saturday night by some of the most talented comedians on the air. abc's jonathan karl has more. >> i can't. the third one i can't. sorry. oops. >> reporter: some debate moments just don't need late night comedians to be memorable. for the rest there is "saturday night live."

>> let me just sum up. on track. stay the course. 1,000 points of light. >> governor dukakis, rebuttal. >> i can't believe i am losing to this guy. >> reporter: over the years the "snl" parodies have some times been more memorable than the debates themselves. >> can i call you joe? >> can i call you joe? >> of course. >> i practiced a couple zingers. i call you joe. >> reporter: when you think of palin, facing off against biden. you are probably most likely to think of this. >> john mccain and i are a couple of mavericks and gosh darn it we are going to take that maverick energy right to washington and we are going to use it to fix this financial crisis. >> the real al gore was so stiff in his first debate. >> i will put medicare and social security in a lock box. >> reporter: the staff made him watch this. >> onef the keys to the lock box would be kept by the president. >> the real john mccain wandered around the stage when he debated obama. and so did "snl's" mccain.

the parodies aren't just funny they matter. >> as many people will talk about the "skit" monday as will talk about the actual presidential debate. that's what makes it so powerful. >> reporter: afterall how can the real debate compete with something like this. >> i know the white house. i know the door out to the rose garden doesn't lock unless you pull it. i know that, i know that the toilet in the lincoln bedroom will run all night unless you jiggle that handle. >> reporter: jonathan karl, abc news. >> the strategery. >> oh, that was will farrell doing bush. dana carvey doing the first push. tina fey, went through the roof after sarah palin. so many memorable moments. and there -- look at that. >> can i call you ron? >> ha-ha. >> well done. i like that. more from abc coming up next. god bless america. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades.